The Ending of Time
by Pandorica1912
Summary: The universe is dying again, this time from someone messing with the Rift's energy. The Doctor has twenty minutes to save it all or his timeline will catch up with him and he'll die. bad at summaries, forgive me :D reviews are wanted :P
1. Chapter 1

The console left the room brightly lit, although the main lights were already shut off. As several yellow lights began to flicker, the one occupant in the room mumbled of "stupid, non-existent buttons". He kicked the console gently, then grabbed his foot, leaning against the railing in frustration.

"I see them right there," Amy said with an exaggerated sigh as she watched her friend hit the buttons until the lights faded out. She plopped down on the stairs as she entered the room.

"Do you now?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow, keeping his eyes locked on the console's lights.

"Of course not, you just wrecked them." Amy stood and glided over to the Doctor.

He smiled and clapped his hands together, "Then it's quite possible they never existed at all." He said and patted Amy's shoulder excitedly. "Now, who wants to go see rivers made of snowflakes? It's actually very pretty. Or the burning glass sculptures in Aguire 6? Or maybe the fine people of Tabgula, where they literally have three heads." He smiled again and pushed down a lever. "Or maybe Southampton on April 10th, 1912."

"Why Southampton?" She asked, crossing her arms as she leaned against the console beside him.

The Doctor sighed, "Amy, what I'm asking is- oh, never mind," The Doctor said and pushed away from the console with the back of his hands. He spun in a circle as he moved away from the buttons and levers. "You'll just have to wait and see." He glanced at her and nodded towards the doors. "Go on… have a peak."

Amy rolled her eyes and began to walk towards the doors, but was stopped midway by the sound of coughing. A terrible, dreadful cough that sounded like sandpaper brushing against more sandpaper, with a liquid screech lying below it. She turned to face the Doctor with a frown. He was supporting himself by gripping the console with one hand, while the other clutched his chest.

As he looked up, Amy saw rings of yellow, purple, and blue circling his eyes. "How'd that happen so fast?" She said cautiously as she moved towards him. The Doctor's skin was paling rapidly and he was slowly falling to his knees. "Doctor?"

He looked up, his eyes glazed over, "Amy, maybe visiting Titanic isn't the best idea… today." He went on mumbling, then glanced up, "Maybe tomorrow, eh? See Titanic set off on her damned voyage… what a beauty."

"By the looks of you, you won't have a tomorrow." Rory said curtly as he glided into the room. He ran down the last steps and wrapped an arm around the Doctor to give him more support. The Doctor shoved Rory away, leaning against the console again. "Doctor,"

He shook his head, "I'm fine!" He cried out in a hoarse voice, coughing as he fell to the floor.

"Doctor!" Amy yelled, wrapping her arms around him and placing a hand to his cheek. "What's happening? Please, tell me what's happening."

He leaned against her, pressing his face into her shoulder. "I can't breathe," he whispered, shutting his eyes.

"Doctor, keep your eyes open… tell me what's the matter."

"I-" he pulled away, grabbing onto the console to lift himself, "can stabilize myself." After the long task of pulling himself up, he began pulling levers and finally jabbed his arm with a needle. "There," he let out a quick sigh, the rings around his eyes fading, "that should last a while."

A moment of silence passed as Amy and Rory took in the information. Their strange friend was already looking better, but he still didn't seem whole. A few more minutes ticked by until the silence was beginning to choke Amy. "So… Titanic?"

The Doctor looked up at her, her voice shocking him back to reality. "We'll save that for another day, yeah?" He grinned and walks towards the doors, a slightly confused look crossing over his face. "There's much more interesting things to deal with."

Amy lifted an eyebrow, "Like?"

With an annoyed sigh, the Doctor turned to face them, "Like the end of the universe, for instance." He walked to the door, cautiously opening it and stepping out, immediately being blinded by sunlight. He took a few more clumsy steps away from the TARDIS and rubbed his forehead. "I can't see a thing!" He whined, his voice sounding like it belonged to a seven year old. "Daft old sun, just hanging there in the sky… all bright and rounded."

Someone gasped beside him and he jumped backwards, his back landing against the door of the TARDIS. "It's beautiful…" Amy exclaimed as the Doctor fumbled with the door handle. He grunted and bit his bottom lip, catching Amy's attention. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to get into the TARDIS, but you shut the doors. And when you shut the doors with someone still inside, and with the readings sky rocketing… well, it's like a defense mechanism. The doors lock and whoever's standing outside can't go back in until the whole ordeal is resolved."

"So, Rory's stuck in there?" She bit her own lip, staring down the Doctor.

He nodded, his hands slipping away from the door, "but he's safe, the TARDIS is keeping his timeline in tack." The Doctor spun on his heels, glancing around. "Ah, so, all of history in one. I'm not very surprised that we're on earth… earth's history happening all at once." He sighed and rubbed his forehead again, then began walking.

Amy rushed after him, quickening her pace to stay at his side. "Earth's history happening all at once? Why exactly is that happening?"

The Doctor shrugged and grabbed her hand, dragging her further into the city. "I'm guessing someone or something is using the Rift's energy to literally alter the world. And whoever did it must be suicidal, because the way it's planned out, timelines are unraveling… the universe falling in on itself."

"How could it fall in on itself? It's the bloody universe!" She unintentionally squeezed his hand as she looked over to him.

"Oh, very easily, Pond. Picture a black hole, where it basically sucks up everything in its orbit… you know what? Don't picture a black hole, it's nothing like that. It's just collapsing in on itself. Wait. Maybe it would be like a black hole," he paused, lost in his own rant.

He began to pick up speed again as he rushed over to the center of a street, looking around as if he would see something that he didn't at first. "Time is rewriting itself with the could have beens and the what ifs… And after every possible route with one single decision is finished, it's deleted. And everything involved with that first decision is gone as well."

"Deleted? What's keeping us from being deleted?" She already had a feeling of the answer, remembering a time close to that with the Pandorica.

The Doctor glanced at her and smiled, "Nothing at all, but to be able to be deleted, your timeline needs to be unraveled. Once that's done, time will catch up with you…" He trailed off and sighed, grabbing his forehead again and pushing into his temples with his thumbs. "It's a temporal safety, but it will keep you balanced long enough in the time zone we first came through with."

"And what time would that be? 1912?" Amy asked and the Doctor nodded, "So, how is time…mixing?"

Another smile began to tug at the edges of the Doctor's lips, but he held it down. "When Rift energy is activated, it generally sends off a wave of power. If it's used to power something already holding energy from another rift, they can't coincide together… it's like a human body fighting off a virus. One of the energies believe the other as a foreign substance, so they ultimately attack it. And Rift energy is so strong that it can tear a hole in the fabric of reality, and if the hole is large enough then anything could happen." His hands went to his forehead again and he stared at the ground moving slowly below his feet, "Once a hole is there, you only need an idea. If the idea is strong enough, it can change the course of history and so much more."

"So someone did this on purpose?" Amy cried out, a tinge of disbelief ringing through her voice. "Who would do this?"

He laughed curtly, his head shaking at Amy's question. "So many people, so many aliens… for revenge, for anything really…" He laughed again as he glanced around, goose bumps forming on his arms. "Something's off."

"Everything's off," Amy muttered, pulling her hand away from the Doctor and crossing her arms.

The Doctor shook his head again, "No, no… it's different. It's-" He broke off, cringing as he jerked backwards. "Something's coming." He whispered, falling to the ground. "Something's… in my head." His voice grew quieter as he curled and uncurled in pain. Amy dropped down beside him, her hands hovering above his shaking body.

"Doctor? Doctor, what's coming back?" She lifted his head, resting it on her lap and she locked eyes with him.

He let out a quivering sigh, "Not a what, a who," his voice was barely audible, but the words hit Amy with a wave of confusion. A tear rolled down her cheek in silence as she stared at the Doctor, "Amy?" His voice caught her off guard and she found herself in a loss for words, so she nodded. "Gotcha," he tried to smile, letting his eyes flutter shut.

"No, no! Please, Doctor, open your bloody eyes!" She screamed, shaking his shoulders gently as footsteps rushed up behind her. A hand tapped her shoulder, but she didn't turn. It didn't matter; all that mattered was fixing the Doctor. Her hands pulled back one of his sleeves as she searched for a pulse. Finally satisfied, she sighed and let herself relaxed slightly.

"Sorry if I'm intruding, but is that the Doctor?" A man stepped in front of her and her eyes slowly adjusted, the fresh tears dripping down her cheeks.

"Yeah, yeah it is." She croaked, not being able to say anything else. The man looked odd, especially his old looking coat and the grin playing at his lips. "Who're you?" She eventually managed, her voice cracking.

The man laughed and bent down beside her and the Doctor, "I'm an old friend." He pressed his hands against both sides of the Doctor's chest and his grin widened. "Two steady beats," he dragged his hands away and looked at Amy. "I'll be back, so tell him I stopped by, okay?" The man rose to his feet, already starting to walk away.

"Wait! What do I tell him? I don't know your name!" Amy yelled out after him, having the urge to stand up and run after him. She didn't move and ran her fingers gently through the Doctor's hair instead.

"Uh, tell him it was the Face of Boe." His smile that had faded a few moments ago had returned, "He'll understand."

Amy watched him until he disappeared into the crowd roaming the streets and sidewalks. She frowned and looked back down at the Doctor's head in her lap. "The Face of Boe?"


	2. Chapter 2

It was silent for a little longer than Amy liked. Everything was making noises around her, but none of them were processing in her head. She kept her eyes glued on the Doctor, waiting for any sign of life to appear.

But it never came, he stayed motionless and pale on the ground. Amy lifted her eyes and looked around, watching as people passed by without a single glance in their direction. Then he was back, the man in the strange coat. He bounced up to Amy and knelt down, grinning from ear to ear.

"Listen, I've gotten some help, but we need to get the Doctor back to the TARDIS." He began checking for a pulse again, which Amy had done at least a hundred times in the past ten minutes.

She shook her head, "We can't. The TARDIS locked us out,"

He sighed and swiped a hand over his face, then nodded. "Right, okay, then we stay here." The man sighed again and shifted his weight from foot to foot. "He won't be happy with me,"

Amy raised an eyebrow, looking back down at the Doctor and pushing strands of hair from his eyes. "Why would he be?"

"Um, well, the help I got… it's from someone just like him, but I'm not sure who will be coming with him."

"Just like him? Like another Time Lord?" She asked, running her fingers through the Doctor's hair again. It was getting messy from her doing that so often, but she couldn't seem to stop. He looked so fragile.

The man laughed and tugged at the sides of his coat, "Not exactly, but he'll be here soon…" He looked around and as if on cue, another man appeared beside him.

The new man sneezed and shook his head, sliding a hand through his gelled up hair. "I hate those things." He muttered, throwing a vortex manipulator to the ground. "Rubbish way to travel," he shook his head again and looked down at them. "Jack!" He grinned and pulled the man up, pulling him into a quick hug. "Ah, Captain Jack!"

The man known as Jack smiled, "Do you still go by 'Doctor'?"

Amy frowned and looked back down at her Doctor, beginning the long task of fixing his messy hair. The man named Jack called this new man in the red converse and tan trench coat the Doctor. Or that if he still went by that name. Either way, it wasn't right.

"Ah, nope, I go by John. Much easier for Rose and such," he responded, popping the "p" in nope. He stuffed his hands into his coat pockets and smirked, then looked down at Amy. "And you are?"

She dragged her eyes away from the Doctor and up to John. "Amy Pond," she turned her gaze back to the Doctor, another sigh escaping from her. "And that's the Doctor."

John nodded and bent down, "Okay, what exactly happened here? Besides the whole time unraveling and deleting thing. What happened to the Doctor?"

"We were going to see the Titanic leave Southampton and he looked ill… then he was fine and we came out here… and he collapsed."

"Oh, well I'm guessing he had to basically give himself a shot, which would only be a temporal healing. The liquid that was fired into his system wouldn't be able to last long with his timeline slowly disappearing. Or it could be that that part of his timeline was already deleted, meaning he never gave himself the shot at all. Which also means his timeline has almost caught up with him." John frowned and ran a hand through his hair again.

Amy bit her lip, "What will happen when it does?"

"I don't know exactly, a lot of things could happen. You could just blink out, you could be completely erased, or you could be completely fine…" He shrugged and scratched the back of his head, "It might be different for everyone."

It grew silent again as they all watched the Doctor, the silence finally growing uneasy. Jack cleared his throat and got up, "Face of Boe, remember that." He pointed at Amy and picked up the vortex manipulator. "Come on, John." He began typing away, then grabbed John's arm and flashed out.

"No!" Amy yelled at the air and began to shake the Doctor. "Wake up! Wake up!" Her voice rose, until she was practically screaming. "Wake up!" More tears streamed down her face, landing softly in the Doctor's hair. "Just wake up," she whispered, wiping her face. She rubbed her eyes and patted his hair down.

She lifted her head, looking around at the crowds and the people finally noticing them. She let her thoughts drift as the groups stared at the Doctor sprawled out across the ground. It didn't matter, they probably were just wondering if he was alive.

A loud gasp brought everyone back to their own heads besides Amy. She kept her gaze locked on the people, who all leaned forward at the gasp. Their whispers were beginning to annoy her.

"Amy." A hoarse voice said and Amy looked down.

"Welcome back," she smiled weakly, watching as his eyes started to become clearer, the glassy look disappearing.

He grunted and sat up, immediately regretting it and falling back into Amy. "Head rush," he explained and sat up slower than before. "Right, yes. Back and welcomed. Good," he struggled to get to his feet, his knees shaking. "Universe breaking down into atoms and I'm taking a nap on your lap." The Doctor pushed his thumbs into his temples and tried to balance himself.

Amy got to her feet and placed her hands on his arms, "You were unconscious, not taking a nap." She laughed softly and let go of his arms, "What is the Face of Boe?"

The Doctor's head snapped up, his eyes wide. "Where'd you hear that?"

She shrugged, "A man… he told me to tell you the Face of Boe and that he'll be back. But they were also calling him Jack."

"They?" He crossed his arms, his forehead crinkling as his eyebrows pushed together.

"Yeah, there was another man in red trainers… called John, I think." But the Doctor wasn't listening; he was staring at something in the distance. "Doctor?" Amy snapped in front of his face, trying to get his attention.

He blinked and looked back at her, "What?"

"What are you looking at?" She asked, her own eyebrows raised, "Who's John and who's Jack?" But Amy had already lost his attention, he was beginning to walk, his legs still wobbly as he started to run. He was running towards a group of people, all of them with their eyes locked on him. "Doctor!" Amy began to run after him, pushing passed the people he had gracefully dodged.

The Doctor stopped short of the group, his eyes searching for something. "She's not here," he said under his breath and watched as someone approached him. "Martha."

The woman looked confused, her eyes practically scanning him. "Yeah," she said curtly, "Who are you?"

He couldn't help but smile, "I've changed a bit, but I'm him. I'm the Doctor," he held his smile as Martha gasped.

"Doctor," she grinned and touched his cheek, "You've changed everything." She pulled her hand back and cleared her throat, then looked back at the group behind her. "We found him." She said cheerfully and rushed over to a man standing between a redhead and a blonde. "Mickey, we found him." Martha hugged the man and laughed.

The Doctor stepped forward and looked at them all. "Mickey!" He smiled again and patted the man's shoulder, then turned his attention to the redhead. "Donna, you remember? Of course you'd remember, nothing is the same here. The barriers separating universes are collapsing, people are remembering odd things, and I've got a pounding in my bloody head!" He smacked his forehead and sighed.

"Doctor?" The blonde said cautiously, stepping forward.

"Not now, Jackie!" He smacked his forehead again, a red mark appearing in the middle, "How could I be so thick? The pounding in my head! And the universe is dying because of time! When time ends, all ends! You can't just go on without time! And who would be focused on only the time? The key to kill all?" He was rambling now, ignoring everyone trying to stop him or interrupt, "A clever man! A very, very clever man! If you erase the timelines first, then you have a clean slate. A completely empty universe."

"What do you mean empty? Doctor, I thought everything would just blink out." Amy interrupted, grabbing his arm.

He shook his head, pulling his arm away from her. "No, not if you end the process and shut the Rift's energy down before that. They'd wait until every timeline of every species is deleted, then you stop it… and if you're the only one left in the universe, then there's so many ways to go about things! You can create your own species by just thinking it up! One idea and its there. The laws of the universe and the laws of time would belong to you."

"But who would do that?" Mickey asked, gripping Martha's hand.

The Doctor rubbed his chin and then began to wring his wrists around themselves. "You could take anything back. Anything lost could return, no consequences." He looked up at Martha and frowned, "It's the Master."


	3. Chapter 3

Martha found herself staring at him, her mouth slightly open in alarm. The _Master_? It seemed a bit surreal, but she felt herself nodding at his words. It didn't make sense on how he could be here, because she clearly remembered the year that never existed. It nearly tore her family apart.

"How-" She sucked in a breath of air, "How can he be here?" Martha was guessing, or rather assuming, it was possible for him to be here, but one thing still didn't make sense. How could he have returned to kill time? After time began to collide, yes, it would be very possible, but how did he come to start it in the first place?

The Doctor laughed quietly, "Time is weak; fragile. He could have been at one fixed point, which would have lost the whole reason it's called a fixed point…. Never mind that… If every point is happening at once, that means at least one version of the Master would be lingering about." He paused and grinned sheepishly at Martha, "But I'm guessing you meant the whole bit of how it started if he was dead."

Once Martha nodded, his smile faded. "Right. Well, I don't exactly know, but it just means he isn't working alone. No one truly ever dies, it's basically impossible. So, he could have easily influenced a whole species to help him without actually knowing they're helping him." He sighed and slid a hand over his face in frustration, "It would be a very revengeful species. One that wouldn't think too much of the idea, and would only branch off of it."

"Doctor," Amy snapped from his side and he spun, cocking his head at her. "Just tell us, will you? I don't want to hear you rambling on forever."

"I don't ramble on forever!" He said defensively, taking up the same tone he uses when defending his odd hats and bow ties. "Anyway," he shot Amy a quick glare, "For a psychic link to be strong enough through two different species, history would have to be involved. And with one end of the psychic link technically dead, the connection would have to be extremely well. The history thick and-" He stopped himself and shook his head rapidly, "Why! Why?" He yelled at no one in particular as he spun in a circle. His boots kicked up dirt as he pushed passed Jackie, moving further into the chaotic city.

Amy rolled her eyes and followed, trying to patch her pace to his. "What is it? What species started it in the first place?"

"One that knows plenty about Time Lord technology, enough to be able to use a Dimensional Flux Manipulator. Funny name, I know, but it can open cracks between universes and it absorbs Rift energy to function. If you pour too much energy into the thing, it will rip the universe right down the middle. And when it rips, it begins to fold in on itself, parts of history bending over to touch… And who else would know more about the Time Lords than the species who tried to wipe them all out?"

A small gasp and Donna was at his other side, "The Daleks, then? It's the bloody Daleks!"

The Doctor frowned, "Lower your voice, Donna; we don't want to attract unwanted attention."

Amy giggled and nudged his arm playfully, "I think you already got unwanted attention when you fainted on the ground."

He shrugged and scratched the back of his head, "Okay, we don't want _more _unwanted attention. What we need is Jack, try to see what he knows about all of this. He always knows something… That's what we need. Information." He stopped walking and turned on Martha and Mickey. "How was Earth doing before this? Any strange happenings?"

Martha glanced at Mickey, who stared back at her nervously before looking at the Doctor. "The stars were going out,"

"Gah!" He exclaimed, "Of course they were! They always do! Plus, each star holds a slight amount of Rift energy. The Dimensional Flux Manipulator must have started draining the star light as well. If you take in the factor of solar flares with the stars, it quickens up the process. A process that could still be happening. It would happen until every timeline is gone besides the Master's himself." He clapped a hand down on Mickey's shoulder and his grin returned, "That's brilliant news."

Donna slapped the Doctor's shoulder, jerking him away from Mickey. "Oi, spaceman, how is that brilliant?" It sounded like a question, but her voice was so loud, it made the Doctor flinch.

"It's brilliant because it means that if we just get to the – well, let's just call it the flux manipulator… it's brilliant because if we get to the _flux _manipulator, we can shut it down and I can just reboot the universe."

"_Again_? Doctor, you sacrificed yourself when you rebooted it last time!" Amy yelled at him, slapping his other shoulder.

He grabbed his shoulder, Amy's hit harder than Donna's. "Yes, but just like the Pandorica did, the flux manipulator holds a small particle of what the universe used to be like. If I just throw it into the heart of the TARDIS, it should be able to reboot it."

"The TARDIS? How would you manage that?" Martha asked, crossing her arms as they began to walk again.

"The TARDIS exists throughout time and space, lightly touching every moment. If you stick a memory of what used to be and pull a few shiny levers, a solar flare containing unharmed Rift energy would ripple across the universe, hitting everything in its path."

But Amy knew better, she could tell the Doctor knew too as he kept trying to pry his eyes away from the ground. A shadow had fallen across his face as he explained what would have to be done. There were always consequences to what he does. He always did something for the universe and always had something taken away by it.

Something would go wrong and there would be dire after affects. She could feel it in her bones, and by how everyone else was staring at the Doctor's slouched over figure, she knew everyone else had the same thought as well.

Even with the unbearable thought hanging over all of their heads, they continued to walk deeper into the crowds, eventually having to link hands in order to not get separated. Amy wasn't worried about being separated though; she had stayed at the Doctor's side as if they were glued at the hip.

The shadow was still draped over his face and it tugged at Amy's heart to see him like that. He already knew something bad would happen, he might have even known what was going to happen, but Amy knew she wouldn't know what until it was already happening.

She squeezed his hand and he glanced at her, throwing on a grin that didn't quite touch his eyes. "Do you trust me?" He whispered, his voice barely heard over the cries of the crowds surrounding them.

"Of course," Amy responded easily, waiting for his eyes to land on her's. He briefly nodded as his eyes lingered on her's, then pulled away again. He turned his back to her and dragged her along until they were all safely tucked away in an alley.

"All right, is everyone here?" The Doctor asked as he let go of Amy's head and did a head count. "Jackie?" He sounded slightly surprised, as if just realizing she was there. "Jackie, right… Sorry, I've been a bit distracted." The Doctor smiled and stopped a few inches away from her.

Jackie smirked, stuffing a hand into her pocket. "Although you still found time to yell at me to stay quiet in one of your rants."

His smile grew to a grin that made his eyes glow, "I don't rant." He said as more of a fact and pulled the blonde into a quick hug, then pulled away and walked back over to Amy, sitting on a box beside her.

Amy looked up at him and sighed, "We don't even know where we're going. Where exactly are we going? Or doing?"

"Right now, we're looking for Jack, who could be anywhere. Most likely a bar if he's still the same old-"

"Doctor," Amy cut him off.

"-Jack, which he most likely is. Although, I don't think he understands the whole even if you're immortal, you can still gain-" He continued as if Amy hadn't said anything at all.

"Doctor!" She tried again, pinching his arm.

"-weight. Ah!" He rubbed his arm where she pinched him and he glared at her. "What was that for?" He muttered and looked down at his coat, seeing a slightly piece of fabric sticking up from her fingers pressing together around it.

Amy groaned, "I found that Jack guy."

The Doctor's head snapped up, his eyes wide. "Oh?" He looked around the alley, his gaze finally landing on a man in an old coat standing between Jackie and the man in converse. "Jack!" He cried out with the glee of a six year old and hopped down from the box. "Jack!" He repeated with a heartfelt laugh. He pulled Jack into the same short hug he gave Jackie and grinned.

"Hey, Doc, glad to see you're awake." Jack smiled and pulled his sleeve down over his vortex manipulator.

"Oh, well, yes…" His grin widened and he looked over to the man beside him. "You go by John now, yeah?" John only nodded and tried to smile, it hardly looking real. "Is she here?" The Doctor's voice lowered dangerously as his smile faded, along with his gleeful attitude. The shadow returned as he stared at John. John only nodded again, his adam's apple bobbing with a gulp.

The Doctor cleared his throat and looked out of the alley, his eyes immediately glazing over with fresh tears. He held them back as best as he could, finally feeling them spill out and slid down his cheeks. "Rose," was all he could say as another blonde approached the alley.

She smiled softly at him and sighed, "Hello, Doctor."


	4. Chapter 4: my necessary thanks

**Hey, all… As you can see, this really isn't a chapter. I just kept forgetting to put it at the end or beginning of all of them that reviews are wanted. :D . Even if this is a waste of time, I'm going to keep writing it because it's fun. **

**I'd just like to know what you all think. I'll try to keep posting every day, so keep reading! **

**REVIEW :D :P **

**And thanks to the readers who have added my story to their favorites or had started to follow it. Thanks again!**

**By the way, I plan on this story having plenty of more chapters, because I do love the long ones. So, I'll make it the best as I can!**


	5. Chapter 5

This wasn't supposed to happen. _She _wasn't supposed to come back. But what shouldn't happen didn't matter anymore; the laws on the universe weren't there anymore. And she was there. No matter how many times he blinked, she was _still _there.

The pink and yellow human was grinning at him, and all he could off her was a clench of his jaw. She stepped closer and he could smell her scent, breathe it in like it was a drug. He snapped to, his blinking turning rapid until he finally stopped.

"Rose," he repeated, his eyes boring into her's. Her grin widened as she moved in for a hug. He stepped back, then moved forward again and brushed his fingers lightly across her cheek. Her skin was warm and solid. She was real.

She was real and she was there. He allowed her to pull him towards her, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing. He wrapped his own arms around her and squeezed back. "You're here." He murmured into her hair, resting his head on her shoulder.

She laughed and moved her hands in circles around his back. "And you've changed again. Bow tie?"

The Doctor grinned and pulled away from her, fixing his red bow tie. "Yeah, of course, bow ties are cool." He rubbed his eyes and looked around at the group that had fallen silent. "Well," he gulped and pushed his back against the wall, "Jack, what do you know about all of this? You have a vortex manipulator, so I'm assuming you've gotten around."

Jack nodded and tapped the manipulator around his wrist, "It's the Master and the Daleks, with for some odd reason, these statues."

The Doctor frowned and glanced at Amy. "Statues, yes?" He asked Jack, without taking his eyes off of Amy.

"Yeah, he's using them for guards it looked like. Surrounding the whole building," Jack said and flipped a switch on the manipulator, then looked back up at the Doctor. "But, they're just statues, how will they protect the building?"

Martha stared at the Doctor, worry written across her face. "Weeping Angels?" Her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper, but the Doctor nodded his response, pulling his eyes from Amy to look around again.

"The Lonely Assassins… Their usual mode of feeding is to send their victims back in time, feeding on the resulting energy difference. When they are not being observed by another sentient being, they can move very quickly and silently, but when they are being observed they become quantum-locked, occupying a single position in space. In this state, they are frozen and literally indestructible." He stopped, glancing around at the confused faces staring back at him. "What?"

Amy laughed and walked over to him, leaning against the wall beside him. "That's not how I remember them…"

"Well, they needed bodies… And when Angels need bodies for communication they snap their victim's neck and rearrange the brains for their purposes. _Those _angels needed bodies, because they were decaying from not having energy for quite some time. They were also extremely desperate and trying to run away from the crack." The Doctor said and stared at Amy, his eyes squinting from being lost in thought.

He pushed away from the wall and turned his head to look out of the alley. "All right, so, ignore that. We aren't dealing with the Weeping Angels at the moment. We need to get to the building first." He looked at Jack, "Where's the building?"

"Somewhere on this block," Jack looked out of the alley in the same direction as the Doctor and frowned. "There's too many people and-"

"_Exterminate_!" The battle cry echoed throughout the street, shocking Jack into hopping backwards into Rose. She shoved him away and peaked out. "_You will be exterminated_!" The same yell was louder, causing everyone to look at the Doctor.

He was staring at the ground, his face twisted in what could only be described as pain. His fingers were curling and uncurling, as if trying to find another hand. Rose stepped towards him, grabbing one of his hands and squeezing it encouragingly.

"Daleks," he muttered and bit his lip, wincing as another cry of extermination hit him. He cleared his throat and nodded to Jack. "Use the vortex manipulator to get us out. You might have to take a few trips, but we'll get out safely."

Jack began typing away on the vortex manipulator, then looked up. "Amy, Martha, Mickey… grab on." Mickey and Martha placed their hands on Jack's arm without hesitation. Amy sighed, staring hard at the Doctor before placing her own hand on Jack's shoulder.

A puff of pale blue smoke and all three of them were gone. Then Jack was back, grabbing Jackie's arm in frustration, "Who else is coming?"

"John and Rose, you can only take three other people besides yourself, anyway." The Doctor said as he kept his eyes locked on the Dalek.

Rose rolled her eyes, "And leave you?" She slid her hand back into his, intertwining their fingers. "They go, we stay."

John groaned, "Rose, you have to come." Jack didn't give them time to argue and forced Jackie to grab hold on John's arm. They were gone before Rose could respond.

"Now what?" Rose asked as she bent over and looked out across the street. People were going down like dominos; the sound of the Dalek's weapon covering the people's dying screams. The Doctor winced and stepped out onto the street, "Doctor… tell me what you're thinking."

He shook his head, "Can't." He dragged her into the middle of the crowded street and dropped her hand. "Uh, right, now… stay here. If I'm not back in five minutes, go back to the alley and wait for Jack."

And with that, he ran through the crowd, quickly disappearing. Rose sighed and waited, crossing and uncrossing her arms. More waiting, _always _waiting for that man.

After what seemed way over five minutes, she slowly made her way back to the alley. Jack was already standing there, a look on his face that made Rose shiver. "Come on." He muttered and grabbed her arm, throwing them through space until she felt the ground under her feet again. The trip tingled and the feeling lingered on her skin for a little longer until her eyesight became clear.

"We have to go back… The Doctor…" Rose said, her voice shaky.

"He's here," Amy called over to her. Rose brushed past Jack and her mother, kneeling down beside Amy and the shivering Doctor.

His eyes were frantically going in all directions, landing on Rose's face. "Sorry I left you," he whispered and watched as Rose's emotions played right across her face. It went from annoyance, to concern, to one hundred percent worry.

"You're shaking." She stated, scanning his body.

He laughed weakly, "Twenty minutes, we have twenty minutes to power to flux manipulator down."

Rose lifted an eyebrow and raised her head, "Where's Donna?" She asked as she looked over everyone.

"Gone. Her timeline caught up with her." The Doctor whispered, his eyes shutting. "She's inside there," He nodded to the building as Amy pulled him further onto her lap, wrapping an arm around his waist protectively. Rose stood and ran up the steps.

"Let's get her then," she argued as Jack caught her arm. "What?" She snapped and glared at him.

"Twenty minutes to stop it all. My timeline is almost gone, Rose." The Doctor said and tried to sit up, only for Amy to pull him back down. "There are things you have to factor into stealing people's timelines… the good in them, the bad, the memories…." He trailed off and looked at the Meta-Crisis Doctor to explain more.

He nodded knowingly and walked to Rose, placing his hands on her forearms. "He dies in twenty minutes if we don't stop this. All of the bad things in his timeline will eat away at the parts that haven't yet been deleted, speeding up the process."

"Why will the bad things eat away at it now? Why not ever before?" She asked, the shaking in her voice almost becoming a stutter.

"Because… because the Rift energy has nearly taken over his system in erasing the first few of his regenerations. And regeneration energy mixed with a deathly amount of Rift energy would start the process."

Rose squeezed her eyes shut as she heard the Doctor whimper from some pain she couldn't help end. "So… we have twenty minutes to stop this or he dies?" She opened her eyes and glanced down at the Doctor, noting that his bow tie is slightly askew. "You die?"

His smile was forced and his skin was pale, the words sounding forced as well. "It would happen either way."

And there it was. The dire consequence that Amy knew would come.


	6. Chapter 6

He would die. That was the consequence. That would be the thing he is forced to give up; his life. It wasn't fair, he did so much for the universe and he had to give his life. His life to save it all. He's done it before, so many times before, but it never _had _to be him. It shouldn't ever be him.

He kept his eyes shut as he rested against Amy, his slow breathing calming her nerves a bit. She pulled him closer until he was practically on her lap. Which he was, his head rested against her shoulder as his legs rested over her's, his body pressed against her's as well. It was keeping her calm though, and she wanted to believe it was calming him as well.

A few minutes of just laying there before he was forced to give up his life would be good. After the yells and an eruption of tears, the Doctor explained that even if he wasn't going to die from his timeline unraveling, putting the Dimensional Flux Manipulator into the heart of the TARDIS would kill him.

Jack offered to do it, but the Doctor ignored him and shut his eyes again, pressing himself further against Amy. He needed comfort, Amy could feel that, but she didn't know what else to do besides hold him. And he was letting her, which was strange, but now wasn't the time to question that.

Her best friend would be dead in twenty minutes. Rose sat down beside Amy, grabbing one of the Doctor's hands tightly and shutting her own eyes. Amy watched her, wondering what it was like to properly love the Doctor and be torn away from him. She could feel the Doctor's breathing slow as he drifted off, the exhaustion of the whole situation finally hitting him.

Rose opened her eyes and stared back at Amy, then nodded as Amy began to scoot the Doctor to her. She wrapped her arms around the Doctor and pulled him onto her own lap, letting Amy break away and stand. "Oh, Doctor." Rose whispered into his ear as he shifted against her.

Amy heard Rose sigh as she walked to Jack, leaning against a rail going down the set of stairs. "Can't we do something?" She asked, staring up at him.

He let out the same sort of sigh as Rose, "I can put that flux manipulator into the heart of the TARDIS if I find out how to do it, but I don't really think he'll tell me how to." He mumbled and crossed his arms, sitting down on a step.

She sat beside him and stared out at the hectic city. "They're all dying, what happens when we change it all back?"

"They all live." He whispered and watched Amy as she looked out across the streets lined with dead bodies, killed by a single Dalek.

Clearing her throat and wiping away fresh tears, she jumped to her feet, storming back out to Rose and the Doctor. "Oi, Doctor! Up! You've got people to save,"

His eyes slowly opened and he smiled weakly at Amy, holding back a sudden yawn. "Who let me fall asleep anyway?" He sat up and pulled himself off of Rose's lap, getting to his feet. "Okay, then, we'll go inside now. See what the Master's up to, then fix it." He grinned and clapped, running up the steps with everyone following on his heels.

They all followed, watching as the Doctor winced at every step. He jerked to a stop, his eyes locked on the Weeping Angel in front of him. "Well, hello." He mumbled and took a step towards it, letting his eyes widen. "Don't blink." He commanded, his eyes almost slipping away from the Angel.

Amy walked up beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder and feeling the shivering of his body under the coat. He flinched from her touch and slowly stretched a hand out to touch the Angel. "Doctor," Amy warned, "You said yourself that if you touch an Angel…"

"Well, we can't just keep staring at it. Remember what happened to you? It basically crawled into your brain…" He said, "Now, everyone go, I'll be right behind you all." He took another step towards it, but dropped his hand. He waited until everyone was running passed the Angel and deeper into the building, their footsteps slowly fading.

The Doctor grinned at the Angel and sighed, then started walking around it, keeping his eyes glued to the Angel. "Here we are…" He mumbled to himself and began walking backwards, his eyes staying on the back of the statue. Then he was turning, running down the corridor and into the group waiting for him. "Run!" He yelled as he heard the Angels behind him. He grabbed a random hand and ran, hearing them all go after him.

Everything passed in a blur as he stumbled down the hall, dropping whoever's hand he grabbed and pushed a door open, rushing in. "Everyone in!" Jack yelled, watching as Rose ran in, then Jackie, Martha, Mickey, and finally Amy. John stood in the hall, staring up at the Weeping Angel.

The Doctor hurried over to the door, stepping into the hall beside John. "Go inside, there's no point in trying to kill it. There is no way to."

John glanced at the Doctor, making sure the bow tied man was staring at the Angel. "It will eventually get into the room."

"Yes, but we won't be there." He grinned and pushed John into the room, then followed him and pulled out his sonic screwdriver, locking the door. "Okay, air duct! Now!"

Amy turned to face him, a glare scorching her features. "The _air _ducts? Are you mad!"

"I am most definitely mad!" He yelled and grabbed a chair, pushing it directly under the opening to the air duct. "Here we are, then. Amy, climb up."

She shook her head and frowned, "You go first."

"Why?"

"Because… because it's you, and who knows if you'll actually go up when the rest of us are there!"

He sighed, but agreed and climbed up, crawling down the duct into a larger opening. Amy crawled in after him, and soon, everyone was in it. "It's too small in here!" Jackie cried out and Rose rolled her eyes.

"Mother, concentrate, yeah?" Rose muttered and crawled passed the Doctor and back into a narrow path. The Doctor went in after her, sonicing every entry way branching from theirs.

"Doctor! Will you _stop _playing with that?" Martha called up, stuck between Jack and Mickey.

He grinned and stuffed his sonic back into his coat pocket, then tapped Rose's leg, motioning her to go quicker when she looked back. She rolled her eyes again and quickened her speed, turning corners every once in a while until stopping at a vent. "Now what?"

"Now, we jump down and hope we don't die." The Doctor said and pushed his sonic up to the vent, the screws coming undone and the vent falling forward. It landed on the floor below with a clatter and Amy flinched at the sound.

Rose jumped down, landing on her feet as the Doctor and Amy fell down beside her. "By that noise, I'm guessing they'll all know what room we're in." John said as he hopped down onto a table, making his fall shorter.

"It was rather loud." The Doctor responded and looked around. "Seems we were trapped as well, they were probably tracking us by heat sensors." The Doctor said and walked to the door, pressing the sonic to the door. "It's wood! Wood _and _deadlocked!" He yelled and smacked the wall, pushing his sonic back into his pocket.

"So, we're stuck?" Mickey wondered aloud as he sat down in a chair, looking at the bars lining the walls and windows.

"Completely and one hundred percent _stuck_." He spit out the last word and slammed his head against the wall. "Ten minutes! Ten bloody minutes to save the universe and we're stuck in a cell!"

A laugh erupted from the walls, interrupting the Doctor's yells. The Doctor froze and spun, staring down all of the walls. "Who are you? Where are you? Show yourself!" He yelled, every word pushing the Doctor more into a breakdown.

The laugh continued and the Doctor grabbed his head with one hand, the other pounding away at his forehead. "How do you like the drums, Doctor? It'll drive you insane eventually, it always does." The menacing laugh stopped, allowing words to flow through the walls, then continued laughing.

"Stop it," The Doctor whispered, his shoulders slouching in slight defeat.

"The fury of a Time Lord… such a magnificent thing." The voice said with another small laugh, and then it was gone. A crackling filled the silence and the Doctor fell on his knees, tears trickling down his face as he grabbed at his head again.


	7. Chapter 7

**This is taking me longer than I thought to think up, and I've had a total loss of creativity. But, I spent the day thinking on it, and now I think this isn't too bad. Here we go! Review!**

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"Stop it! Just _stop it_!" Martha yelled into the air, slamming her fists against the walls in frustration.

She got a laugh as a response, and then came the words. Slow, yet all too powerful. "Now, Martha Jones, why would I do such a thing?"

"You're _hurting _him!" She screamed back, her voice growing louder and louder, the words shaking with anger.

The voice laughed again, "He deserves it, that painful beating in his head is what I've lived with my whole life! If the _Doctor _can't live with it, why should I?"

Martha turned to the Doctor, his hands still gripping his head and his eyes locked on the floor. He was shaking, each shake ripping through his body violently. He glanced up, feeling Martha's eyes on him, and offered a small smile.

"No one deserves it," the Doctor said as he struggled to stand. Rose was at his side instantly, wrapping an arm around his back for support. He draped an arm over her shoulders and looked around the room, "You never deserved it, my friend, and you caved into it. You let it take you over," he motioned for Amy to push a chair under the opening of the air duct, "It would turn anyone mad, but do you realize how long you lasted? Out of pure willpower? That's a miracle in itself,"

"Say my name." The voice said, the words rolling off like a snake's slithers. "Say my name,"

"Master." The Doctor shut his eyes, reopening them minutes later. "Listen to me, I can _help_, and I know how many times I've said those few words to you, but I mean it. I truly and properly mean it." He said calmly, watching as Amy directed people into air ducts once more. "And I'm sorry, I'm so very sorry, but what you're doing is wrong. Siding with the Daleks themselves, yes?" He nodded to Rose, who dragged him to the chair as she climbed up.

The voice didn't respond, so he went on, "You know what you're turning into and you can tell it isn't right. What does it make you? With everything you've turned to, all of the deaths you're causing, what does it _make _you!" He yelled frantically, lifting himself onto the chair. "I can help you!"

"No," the voice whispered, "No you can't."

The Doctor paused, waiting several seconds until he pulled himself into the air ducts. "Go," he ordered, nodding to John at the front of the line.

A few more minutes later and they were back in the room, the Angel waiting as they jumped down. "Oh, not now! Not _now_!" The Doctor snapped and rushed over to it, standing a few inches away from the stone. "I've escaped from you before, you know. More like running away, but we always came out alive. I've outwitted so many of you, so many just destroyed and tossed into nothingness." He let out an angered laugh, "I honestly don't have time for your games." And he blinked.

"Doctor!" Amy cried, jumping forward as the Doctor disappeared. "Where's he gone?" She asked, staring at the Angel.

"Somewhere in time… just let me track him and I'll be able to pick him up." Jack said and pushed up his sleeve, finding his wrist empty. "Where's my vortex manipulator?"

A blue flash behind the Angel and the Doctor was back, holding the arm of River. "Hello, sorry, I needed to pick someone up." He flashed a quick grin and dropped River's arm, nodding to her. "Take care of the Angel, will you?"

River smiled and turned to the Angel, pulling out a gun. "Stand back, sweetie." She smiled again and nudged the Doctor. He jumped backwards, grabbing the door handle.

"Hurry up, then!" He exclaimed, dragging Amy out the door and into the hallway.

"I am!" She called back, pointing the gun at the Angels head.

"Right, of course you are. Everyone out!" Everyone fell out of the room, carefully moving around the Angel and into the hall. The Doctor was already running down the corridor, disappearing around a corner.

A loud blast and a few blinded minutes later, River was running passed them all, yelling a command to run. The Doctor grunted and placed his palms flat on the wall, sliding down to his knees. "Can we rest?" He muttered, forcing his eyes to stay open.

River groaned and stopped, falling back a few steps to grab his arm. "We can't!"

Shaking his head, he dragged himself up, looking around at them all. "Fine… fine! You have to understand, though, River. We only have five minutes! We can't do this in five minutes!"

Rose patted his arm, "Yes we can; _you _can." She whispered, pulling away from him.

He stared at her, a grin falling across his face again. "Oh, Rose…" He sighed and stood straight, a determined glare on his face. "Off we go, to save the universe." His grin faded as he began to run, rushing down the hall in long strides.

Amy glanced at Rose and ran after him, watching him as he fumbled with his bow tie as he went. He was enjoying the running; she could see it from the sparkle in the green eyes and from the smile forming on his lips.

This was the thrill, his never ending chase. He would run and run, saving hundreds of thousands of species in one go. He would save this universe; he would save everyone, with him the one dying. Yet, he wasn't going to stop. He wouldn't save himself and let everyone else die.

She felt herself run into something, pressing her hands against the Doctor's back. She stumbled away from him and sighed. "What are you doing?"

"Finding a room," he said, staring at the two doors in front of him. "What do you say, Pond? Open both and see what awaits us?" Amy grinned and reached for one handle, he grabbed for the other. He looked back at her, his own grin making her's larger. "Open it," he whispered and pushed his own door open.

Her's fell open as his did, the knob barely turning. A cry for help reached her ears and she charged into the room. "Rory?" She muttered, stretching out an arm to the crying man.

"Amy?" He croaked, getting to his feet. "Amy!" Rage erupted from his eyes and he pushed away from her, "You left me! Why did you leave me?"

She fell back, slamming her back into a wall. "I didn't…"

"You _left me_!" He screamed again, moving towards her. A hand wrapped around her arm, pulling her back through the doorway. "You _left me_!" He repeated, the anger radiating from the shaking of his shoulders.

"No I didn't!" She yelled back, the door to the room slamming in front her, blocking her from Rory.

She fell back into the person who dragged her out, crying into the person's shoulder. "Amy," he, whoever it was, whispered. She turned her head up, staring at John. "It wasn't real."

Amy nodded and pulled away from him, "Where's the Doctor?"

"He never came out."

The room was dark besides the orange glow floating a few feet off the ground. He heard Amy's screams from outside and tried to reach the door, finding it locked. He turned back to the ball of orange, slowly moving for it. "What are you?" He mumbled to himself, brushing his hands against it.

The Doctor jerked his hand back, burn marks going across the tips of his fingers. "That's odd." He said and put out his hand again. He kept it in this time, letting it scorch his hand. "Come on, come on… do something!"

It erupted, sending orange light to every corner of the room. "Ah, so you do something." He grinned, ignoring his throbbing hand and watched the light form red mountains and red grass, silver trees with silver leafs.

It was a forest, a forest that was burning. Trees fell down around him as the picture became clear. The red grass was lighting up in blue flames. War ships flew over his head as cries were yelled from the long dead.

It was Gallifrey; Gallifrey burning.

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**I might be stopping for a few days, or not. But, review, please? :) thank you to my readers :P **


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, I really wanted to write the next chapter, so I decided not to stall for a few days. Here ya go :P**

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This was exactly what he didn't want to see. It was dying, everything was dying. The world shifted around him as he made his way through the clearing, cautiously going into the forest. The flames separated to create a path for him, the blue flames licking at the tree tops at his sides.

He ignored it all, blocking out all of the gun echoes and screams. It was too hard to listen to a second time, listening to his planet die. His eyes shifted uncomfortably between the walls of flames, his hands itching to touch them.

Shutting his eyes, he walked blindly down the path, knowing the flames would guide him. He couldn't see this, because he knew what was at the end of the forest, he _knew _he would watch as the last of the flames would bring down Gallifrey.

There was no way around it though, the door behind him was hidden among the trees, and he wasn't ready to turn back. He opened his eyes, stopping at the end of the path. "This is wrong," he said as a form appeared beside him.

"You did this." The Master muttered and grabbed the Doctor's arm, yanking him forward. "Isn't that a big no-no with your morals?" He grinned, dropping the Doctor's arm once they were standing in front of what looked like an empty house. "You remember this place, don't you?"

Tears stung at the Doctor's eyes as he gazed at the house, "Yes," he whispered, curling his fingers into fists. The tears spilled down his face and he didn't dare wipe them away, he was hanging onto that feeling of guilt.

The same feeling that was telling him this wasn't real. The Master had created this to weaken him, take away the last few minutes of life he had to watch his planet burn. "Why am I here?" He asked and turned to his old friend.

The Master shrugged, "Fun?" With another idiotic grin, he tapped the Doctor's shoulder, "I'm showing you what you've destroyed."

"I had to," the Doctor spun on his heels, running back the way he came. "This is in my head! It's all in my _head_!" He cried, searching for the door.

* * *

Jack kicked the door in, rushing in to find sterile white walls and the Doctor, unconscious on the floor. He bent down; finding a pulse, then jerked his head towards John. "What's happening?"

"Exactly what happened to Amy, but his is more like a forced dream. The amount of energy going into creating whatever's going on in his head is much more powerful than what Amy saw, so to have it completely attack all of his senses, he was knocked out."

"By what?" Rose asked as she stepped into the room, looking around at the white floor and walls.

River walked in behind her, automatically going to a vent placed in the middle of a wall. "Most likely he was gassed."

"_Gassed_?" Jack frowned, kicking at a wall with his foot. "What do we do? We only have three minutes!" He yelled, throwing a hand through his hair nervously.

John stood, a small grin playing at his lips. "I know how to do it all."

"No," Rose snapped, "No!" She grabbed John's tie, forcing him into the corner of a room. "You are _not _giving your life!"

"He was going to," he nodded to the Doctor, who was shaking on the floor. Rose sighed, not knowing what to say, and dropped his tie. John smiled weakly and threw an arm over her shoulders, then locked hands with her. "I can save the universe," he whispered.

"I know that, but I just-" A gasp cut her off as the Doctor shot upright. Amy and River were at his side instantly as Martha helped him up.

The Doctor grunted and nodded a thank you to Martha, already moving to the door. "Right, so," he checked his watch, "three minutes to save the universe." He threw on a lopsided grin and hurried out, running down the hall in sloppy strides. Everyone followed, their footsteps echoing behind him. He picked up his pace, turning into what looked like a ballroom and rushed to a ball of electricity floating above a large crack in the floor. "Ah, the Dimension Flux Manipulator, created by the Time Lords to control high amounts of energy."

"Right you are, Doctor." The Master said curtly as he entered through a cobblestone archway. "You have less than two minutes to save the day," he smiled, watching as his old friend grabbed the flux manipulator, turning it around in his burnt hands.

The Doctor shook his head, "We were _friends_." He whispered, walking calmly up to the Master.

Unnoticed behind them, River was fumbling with Jack's vortex manipulator, typing in the coordinates to the TARDIS. "I'll bring her here and we can throw it in." She said and flashed out, the sound of the TARDIS already going through the room.

The wheezing sound brought the Doctor and the Master away from their sudden stare down. "Ha! Yes! Oh, you sexy thing!" The Doctor grinned, clapping as he spun, then turned back to the Master. "I can help you,"

The Master glowered at him, "I don't need your help."

The TARDIS landed beside the ball of energy, with River hurriedly stepping out and ushering everyone in. "Then I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." The Doctor whispered, then turned his back to the blonde man and ran to the TARDIS, dropping to his knees in front of the console.

"Doctor, I'm not letting you." Jack said, taking the Dimensional Flux Manipulator from the shaking alien's hands.

The Doctor didn't protest, falling onto his side in one quick motion and his breathing picking up. "Twenty seconds," he muttered, shutting his eyes.

Jack nodded and turned to John, "What am I doing?"

"When I tell you to throw it in, you _throw it in_, got that?" Once Jack nodded again, John jogged to the console, pulling levers and twisting knobs. "I'm opening the TARDIS's soul up, and when you see the golden glow erupt, toss it directly into the center."

"Got it," Jack mumbled and positioned himself in front of it, his eyes locking on a crack forming across the console. "How would this kill someone?"

"Because you'll also be absorbing some of the soul of the TARDIS, and that's basically absorbing energy from the Time Vortex. No one is meant to do that," John explained and pulled the last lever, the light increasing as it poured over Jack. "Throw it in!" He commanded, then twisted to see everyone else. "Shut your eyes!"

Jack grunted at the burning on his skin and tossed the flux manipulator in, the explosion making his ears ring. The light died down as he fell onto his back, his eyes drifting shut.

The explosion only consisted of a really bright light and a ringing that was so loud, Amy's ears started to bleed. She stood up slowly, her eyes fluttering open as she hurried to the Doctor's side. Something was wrong; she could tell by the way his skin looked. She felt a hand on her back and she turned her head, smiling weakly at Rory.

"How'd you all get in? It was locked." Rory asked, looking back and forth between Amy and the unconscious Doctor.

River bent down on the other side of the Doctor, the normal wheezing of the TARDIS heard in the background. "I showed up inside the TARDIS, Rory, so I flew her… and when we landed, she was just unlocked."

Rory only nodded, giving a face that was full of confusion. "Uh, okay, right." He murmured and stood, only to collapse into the chair. He looked around, finding the control room empty besides Jack, Rose, and Jackie. "Where's everyone gone?"

"Back to where they're supposed to be, in their homes," River said, keeping her eyes on the Doctor's paling face.

"Do they… will they remember this?" Amy asked; glancing up at River, then back down at the Time Lord.

River sighed and set her hand on the Doctor's cheek, "All but one… Donna Noble won't remember this or even knowing the Doctor though, and that's how it's supposed to be."

Amy raised an eyebrow, "Something's wrong, River, something's just… off."

"He doesn't have a pulse, Amy." River looked up at her mother, her eyebrows pushed together in worry. "He's dead."

"No, _no_!" She screamed, placing her palms on his chest and pushing down. "_No_! We saved it _all_! He can't die!" She heard Rose's small sobs behind her and Jack's gasps as he awoke.

Jack sat up, crawling over to the Doctor and pulling something from his pocket. "The Doctor can be saved, once we save the Earth."

"_What_?" Jackie cried out from behind them, "You lot just saved the bloody universe, and now it's _Earth_!"

He shrugged, "There's a way to save him, but it means we stop the Daleks from helping the Master before it all started."

"That's rewriting time, Jack." River stated, crossing her arms.

"Time can be rewritten, Melody," Amy snapped, looking up at Jack, "Do it, Jack, save him."

Jack nodded slowly, the sounds of _Exterminate_ already blaring through the TARDIS's communication links.


End file.
